Sharanu,
Baandhavya team wishes everyone a very Happy and Prosperous Deepavali, The celebration of life’s blessings
— the triumph of knowledge over ignorance and good over evil. Deepavali / Diwali is also a time for prayer
and contemplation, to reflect on our obligations to help our fellow human beings, particularly the less fortunate.
We congratulate our newly elected editorial committee: Dr. Sajjan Shiva, Mrs. Rohini Menasinakai, Yuvaraj
Patil, Srishail Hadimani and Mrs. Supriya Antin. We also would like to congratulate Mrs. Supriya Antin - Kaddargi
on the arrival of beautiful daughter Dhyana.
The editorial team is excited to present the next edition of Baandhavya, we are very grateful to all the contributors
to this edition. The devoted team is committed to uphold the principles of our religion and empower the spiritual
understanding of our readers.

Make my body the wooden beam,
my head the gourd,
my nerves the strings,
my fingers the sticks to pluck them
and sing the thirty two tunes. Press me
to your heart and play, Koodalasangamadeva.

O Lord of my soul, I have tested the spiritually inebriating ambrosia of the devotion. Now I need nothing of this
world from you. Worldly governance, social honor, intellectual excellence, towering greatness, none of such
things interests me now. All desires that hunted me heretofore have vanished. O, Master artist of the universe,
my only wish is to be a (gourd) lute in thy hand. Let my body be its stock; my head be the gourd, my nerves its
strings, and my fingers the plectrum. My lord hold this lute close to thy bosom; play upon it and produce dozens
of sweet tunes! My devotion for thee would flow through those melodies! They will make you pleased and they
will make me blessed!.
Please continue to enrich this newsletter with your contributions.
Sharanu Sharanarthi,
Dr. Srishail Hadimani
Director, VIRC &
Member, Board of Directors

4

President’s Message
Dear VSNA Members & Patrons,
In the past 2 quarter newsletters, we covered some of the progress made in the tasks listed in the Two-Year
Agenda. We also highlighted the 2015 VSNA Convention that was successfully concluded at the time of 2 nd
quarter newsletter. In this 3rd quarter newsletter, I would like to highlight few key developments in this quarter.
The 2015 VSNA Convention team, after their successful hosting of the event, the team is now focused on
publishing the souvenir and closing the financial accounts. The New York chapter not only made the event a
grand one, but also focused on making the convention spiritually rich, winning acclaim from the attendees. It was
truly a memorable event. Thanks to all the local team members and the leadership for the successful event.
Thanks to many of the central leaders and volunteers who worked behind the scene to guide and encourage the
convention team. More highlights will follow in the Convention Souvenir.
Now that the 2015 Convention is behind us, the Maryland chapter has begun to focus on planning for the next
convention. The BOD and BOR members have been working on reviewing the revised bylaws proposed by the
bylaw committee. The content for the Welcome Kit is being drafted. Several meetings among the youth are being
held. Georgia and Detroit chapters are also working towards the 2017 and 2018 conventions respectively. Fundraising efforts towards Basaveshwara statue in London began. Soon will be followed by the Convention trust
Fund, Life-Membership and Scholarship Fund drive. The VIRC team is now revived to include newsletter related
activities. The VIRC team will be led by Dr. Srishail Hadimani and the members are already indicated in the
editor’s note. Our best wishes to this VIRC team. Other updates are in BOD & BOR sections of this newsletter.
Unfortunately, this quarter we witnessed a very horrendous act of silencing a strong voice of Basava Philosophy
in Dr. M. M. Kalaburgi. VSNA deeply denounces such immoral acts and hopes better conscience prevail in all.
This edition contains few articles on spiritual discussions for our readers. Few key topics include an article on
Pᾱdōdaka by Linga Raju and narrative of a Vachana by Sajjan Shiva. We hope Baandhavya will make an
inspiring and enjoyable reading for our members. Please send your feedback and contributions to
newsletter@vsna.org.
Thanks to all contributors to this edition of Newsletter – Baandhavya.
Regards,
Channu Kambalyal
President, VSNA

Pāda refers to feet, and udaka is water. Pᾱdōdaka is the water that has washed the feet of Guru and Jaṅgama.
Pᾱdōdaka is also the water that has washed the Iṣṭaliṅga. It is said that just as the devotee partakes the
Pᾱdōdaka of Iṣṭaliṅga, so should the devotee partake that of Guru and Jaṅgama. It is to be pointed out that the
Veerashaivas are more interested in the symbolic meaning of Pᾱdōdaka than its literal meaning. Symbolically,
Pᾱdōdaka is Bliss (Ᾱnanda). It is implied that Pᾱdōdaka is the enlightenment of Supreme-Bliss that flows like
water from Guru, Liṅga and Jaṅgama.
Siddhᾱnta Śikhᾱmaṇi (1, 2) brings this out in three sthalas. However, it is to be pointed out that these three
sthalas are the first three Liṅgasthalas of Śaraṇasthala that are applicable to the one who is spiritually advanced
and has become a Jīvanmukta after going through all the Aṅgasthalas. The three sthalas are briefly explained
here:
81. Dīkṣᾱ-pᾱdōdaka-sthala: Dīkṣᾱ is the spiritual initiation conducted by a Guru upon a disciple. It is said that
‘Dī’ in Dīkṣᾱ stands for ‘dīyate’ which means ‘gives’ or ‘grants’ the knowledge, and ‘kṣa’ stands for ‘kṣīyate’ which
means ‘destroys’ or ‘eliminates’ ignorance. Here, Pᾱdōdaka is said to stand for ‘the enlightenment of Supreme
Bliss’. Therefore, the Pᾱdōdaka of the Guru is symbolic of the spiritual initiation by a Guru where the knowledge
of oneness (advaitism/monism) is given and ignorance is eliminated, thus resulting in ‘enlightenment of Supreme
Bliss’.
82. Śikṣᾱ-pᾱdōdaka-sthala: Śikṣᾱ means ‘spiritual instruction’. Here the knowledge is emanating from the
Veerashaiva scriptures. It is said ‘the nectar in the form of spiritual knowledge which is churned out by the Guru
from the ocean in the form of the scripture through the power of churning rod in the form of reasoning, is obtained
by the hosts of gods in the form of enlightened persons’. The Sanskrit commentary by Maritoṇṭadᾱrya in the
referenced Siddhᾱnta Śikhᾱmaṇi book (1) says that the Veerashaiva scriptures consist of ‘Vēda and Ᾱgama’ (it
is to be noted that those were the only Veerashaiva scriptures at the time of composition of Siddhᾱnta
Śikhᾱmaṇi). The Pᾱdōdaka of Iṣṭaliṅga is symbolic of the spiritual instruction derived from the Veerashaiva
scriptures, resulting in the ‘enlightenment of the Supreme Bliss’.
83. Jñᾱna-pᾱdōdaka-sthala: Here ‘Jñᾱna’ stands for knowledge that is intuitional, spontaneous, immediate, pure,
and sacred. It is not the perceptual, inferential or the scriptural knowledge derived through the senses or the
scriptures. The Pᾱdōdaka (here, it is from the Jaṅgama) denotes the knowledge of Bliss. This sthala is about the
blissful enlightenment of the treasure of spiritual unity, a state of sᾱmarasya of Ᾱnanda-Jñᾱna.
Śūnya Saṁpᾱdane (3), the main scripture of the Veerashaivas, does not explain ‘Pᾱdōdaka’ anywhere, but it
does use the term Pᾱdōdaka for its symbolic meaning ‘Supreme-Bliss’. This comes about mainly in chapter
eleven titled ‘Apotheosis of Prabhudēva’. It is as follows:
First Basavaṇṇa adores Prabhudēva in his vaĉana and says something like this:
‘…I adored his feet with water of the Supreme Bliss…’
9

Then Ĉhannabasavaṇṇa performs obeisance to Prabhudēva and says something like this:
‘When a Jaṅgama called Supreme Consciousness comes to the house of a Bhakta known as the Eternal One,
the Bhakta performs the feet worship with waterless-water.
That Pᾱdōdaka is the Great Pᾱdōdaka.
The Pure-Bliss converting to water and washing his lotus feet can liberate one who drinks that water.
This being so, having received that Pᾱdōdaka, I found Peace’.
The Veerashaivas do not perform ritualistic ceremonies with the literal Pᾱdōdaka. They use Pᾱdōdaka
for its symbolic meaning which is ‘Supreme-Bliss’.
1. Śrī Śivayogi Śivācārya’s Śrī Siddhāntaśikhāmaṇi with Śrī Maritoṇṭadārya’s Tattvapradīpika. Dr. M.
Sivakumara Swamy. Shaiva Bharati Shodha Pratisthan, Jangamwadi Math, Varanasi-221 001, India. 2007
2. SIDDHᾹNTA ŚIKHᾹMAṆI. The one hundred one sthala doctrine. A concise composition. Dr. Linga Raju.
Published by Veerashaiva Samaja of North America at the vsna.org web-site. 2013
3. ŚŪNYASAṀPĀDANE. Volumes I through V. Published by Karnatak University, Dharwar, India.

About the author: Dr. Linga Raju, M.D. is VSNA life member, native of Davaṇagere, India. Dr. Raju is a prominent Internal Medicine
and Pulmonary Diseases physician. He has written spiritual publications - “A Journey through Hindu and Vīraśaiva Concepts’, and
‘SIDDHĀNTA ŚIKHĀMAṆ; The one hundred one sthala doctrine A concise composition’.

Allama Prabhu is wondering about the ways of the
life of common man, in this Vachana!

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

“

?

?”

,

,

gadget

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

?

?

,

We have eyes that allow us to see. Yet, there is
darkness before the eyes. The darkness is the
ignorance. The ignorance makes us evaluate the
people, the scenery and the events we witness with
our own measuring stick. We say how great this
thing is or how better it could have been. We use
this inference to take us to the heights of pleasure or
depths of sorrow. We oscillate in this cycle of ups
and downs. Do we ever question as to why we use
this measuring stick? How did we acquire it? Is it
necessary? This is the darkness in front of the eyes!
Can we get out of judging people and events?
We all know that the mind is a monkey. It makes us
to hop from one thing to the other constantly. We
are happy with what we have for a moment and start
desiring the next higher pleasure in the next
moment. We are never satisfied or content with
what is at present. This is the ignorance in front of
the mind!

,

,

,

,

,

The mind is struggling with the ups and downs of
desires. This is the battlefield inside. Yet, we try to
project our happiness outwardly. We try to show off
that all is well while the struggle is going on inside!
This duality is our state of existence always!

?

?

?

,

,

,

Allama Prabhu questions ‘what is this way of life?”
Do we ever get out of this mode of living and
develop the awareness to make our inward and
outward the same?

,

Let us see and think clearly!

?

About the authors: Dr. Sajjan Shiva is Professor of Computer Science at the University of Memphis, Tennessee, Fellow of IEEE, teacher, researcher
and consultant since 1975. He is an author of 100+ articles in software engineering, cyber security and computer architecture, authored four books used
by 120+ universities. Through his weekly blog http://vachanaaweek.blogspot.com he has translated and written commentaries on 200+ Vachanas so far.
He has served as the chairman of the VSNA BOR, currently member of BOD, and has been a life member since 1990.

Mrs. Leela Garady is the co-author on http://vachanaaweek.blogspot.com. Leela Garady has an M.A. in Hindi from Bangalore University. She has
developed new ways of teaching language to children. She has written and directed plays in Kannada and Hindi for the students at CFL.

11

Lingavathara Prathigne
Ramjan Darga, Karnataka, India

About the author: Ramjan Darga is a renowned researcher in Basava Philosophy. Mr. Darga is has been the chief guest
at many VSNA Conventions including the 2015 VSNA Convention at New Jersey. He has published numerous articles
explaining the historical facts that occurred during the 12th century spiritual and social revolution.

12

News around the World
International Sharana Samskruti Convention 2016
For more information, visit: http://www.basavasamithibrisbane.org/convention.php

13

Basaveshawara Statue in London, United Kingdom
Basaveshwara Statue in London, United Kingdom unveiled by Prime Minister of India â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Narendra Modi on
November 14, 2015. Listen to his Radio Address via http://www.narendramodi.in/mann-ki-baat of October 25,
2016 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Last 30 seconds. Photos and videos of November 14, 2015 will be published as part of 4th quarter news.

14

Android App on Lingayat

15

Central VSNA Updates
BOD 3rd Quarter Updates
By - Channu Kambalyal, President VSNA
During that 3rd quarter, the BOD members held 3 BOD meetings and several brainstorming sessions to discuss various
tasks. This is besides the joint BOD-BOR meeting chaired by BOR Chair – Mrs. Laxmi Hiremath during the convention
during which the members deliberated on the VSNA Awards, besides assessing the progress of the convention and
commending the work of New York chapter members for the convention. Following are few progress of the tasks from the
Two-Year Agenda during the 3rd quarter:
1. Official Communication:
 Notifications regarding fund raising for Basaveshwara Statue in London sent to all members and patrons.
 Second Quarter newsletter published.
2. 2015 Convention Update:
 New York chapter hosted a very successful 39th convention with over 700 attendees; Highlights of convention given
in 2nd and 3rd quarter newsletter; Programs well organized in most areas; Convention team is working towards
finalizing a balanced budget.
3. Ten Year - Annual Conventions Readiness:
 2016 Convention team of Maryland chapter is all set for hosting and actively working towards the major event.
Notifications sent.
 Georgia chapter leads are mobilizing the local chapter for the 2017 convention.
 Detroit, Chicago and Toronto chapters have been invited to host conventions for years – 2018, 2019 and 2020
respectively. The Central VSNA task group will have follow-up meetings with all chapters to ensure our readiness.
4. Web-Site Updates:
 Work on provisioning for the online registration of members is in progress.
 Matrimony site defects are being fixed.
5. VIRC - Newsletters:
 The VIRC team is now revived. The team of 5 consisting of Shrishail Hadimani as its Director, Yuvaraj Patil, Sajjan
Shiva, Rohini Menashinakai and Supriya Antin-Kaddargi has been formed. This core team will be in charge of
ensuring quality of articles and publications from VSNA. The president and BOR Chair to be in the team for all official
matters.
6. Rejuvenate Local Chapters:
 How to rejuvenate local chapters is documented online: VSNA-Resources-How To Rejuvenate Local Chapters. Local
chapters are encouraged to follow ideas presented in these documents.
7. Youth Participation:
 Under the leadership of youth Ms. Neeta D’Souza and guidance of Mrs. Leena Paul, the youth group met on several
occasions including their get-together at the convention. Key points included - expanding the group via social media
and improving youth participation in 2015 convention.
8. Accounting & Investment Management:
 The task group led by Irappa Arabhavi, Treasurer is monitoring the investments besides maintaining regular
accounts.
9. Election Committee:
 They will reconvene during next quarter for the 2016 for the election process.
10. Bylaw Committee:
 The bylaw committee consisting of 3 former Central VSNA Presidents are working on reviewing recommendations.
 BOD has reviewed 5 articles out of 10 submitted by the committee. Review of remaining articles is in progress.
11. Life-Membership Drive:
 Life-Membership drive – notification was published in 2nd quarter newsletter and in this newsletter.
 There are 8 new life-members so far during 2015.

16

 Additional notifications via mass-emails for life-membership will be sent starting December 2015.
12. Scholarship Fundraising:
 Around $1489 has been collected by Dada Patil and Team towards Scholarship Fund to-date in 2015.
 Notifications for scholarship funds and sponsors is to be started in December 2015.
13. Welcome Kit, Brochures and Guidelines Documents:
 Welcome Kit document is drafted and reviewed by BOD and BOR.
 Updated welcome kit will be sent to new life members during the month of November 2015.
14. Awards Committee:
 The committee carried out the task of inviting nominations for various VSNA awards and assessing the award
winners. Several awards were presented during the convention.
For latest updates on VSNA – BOD Meeting Minutes please visit VSNA.ORG->Events->BOD Meetings.

*****

BOR 3rd Quarter Updates
By - Laxmi Hiremath, Board of Regents, Chairperson
During the August BOR meeting, the BOR members discussed the proposed By-laws revisions. There was a general
discussion about the value of central VSNA membership. BOR acknowledged the need to build a value proposition for all
members to pay dues to central VSNA based on the perceived value of such membership. The central VSNA
officers/leadership should consider the value to membership in every project they undertake and publicize their efforts to
enhance the value of membership.
Rising cost of conventions: BOR debated the need for extravagant conventions which tend to stress the finances of host
chapters and causes rifts amongst the host chapter members while achieving no meaningful outcomes. BOR urges
upcoming convention hosts to scale down cost and increase the spiritual/religious content while reducing the focus on
entertainment/material issues.
Electronic communications: BOR recommends that VSNA use electronic communications/member registry/and esouvenirs/ e-magazines to cut costs and improve communications amongst central VSNA members.
In the month of September -- Regents team members discussed the main pages of the matrimony which continues to have
some glitches. Measures are being taken to follow up on the effort.
At the October BOR meeting fellow Regents member Uma Sajjan, introduced youth Praveen Bommannavar to BOR Team
who is helping to enhance the matrimonial page with updates and new additions. Laxmi informed team of the new VIRC
Newsletter Committee that was constituted to review, edit and accept the submissions for publication in the newsletter.
Revisions to the “welcome kit” was suggested. Shylendra and Jayashree felt that the current content is not exciting enough
for a new member. The outcome was –it should be written in a way that inspires the new members to get involved in VSNA
activities and get the feeling—“this is where I belong”. Laxmi requested Shylendra to write one page of “welcome kit” since
he made a good presentation on content. Laxmi –summarized the completed tasks taken up by BOR—scholarship, transfer
of youth committee, matrimony page.

17

2015 VSNA Convention - Highlights
The 2015 VSNA Convention was successfully hosted by the VSNA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; New York - New Jersey chapter. The convention was
attended by over 700 members. The chapter members demonstrated extra ordinary zeal in planning the event. Some of the
feedback from attendees and photos are were given in 2nd quarter newsletter. Additional highlights are presented here:

18

For more of these photos, please check on: VSNA.ORG->Chapters>-New-York->Events

SharaNu,
Greetings from the members of VSNA-Maryland Chapter Convention Committee!
As the July 4th weekend approaches, Americans plan to celebrate their declaration of independence from the tyranny of the
British Empire. For us, Veerashaivas, it is that time to look forward to enjoy the annual VSNA convention and celebrate
freedom from the tyranny of caste- and creed- based discrimination and meaningless myths and social structures that ruled
mankind for centuries.
VSNA conventions are where we meet our old friends and make new friends, while sharing, learning, and reinforcing our
values. It is the Anubhava Goshti that our Guru Basavanna established at Kalyana. It is unlikely that the sharaNas of the
12th century knew that such gatherings would happen on a new soil across the seven seas almost nine centuries later, but
the enduring power of that knowledge continues to bring us all together in a land so far away year after year.
This year, the Veerashaiva families of Maryland, one of the birth places of VSNA, have the privilege of lighting the lamp of
the 39th VSNA convention. We take immense pride in inviting you to join this congregation in a most serene setting of Turf
Valley Resort at Ellicott City, MD, that is touted by us as ‘Kadali Vana’. The Convention will be a 3-day event, July 1st will
be reserved for golf enthusiasts who wish to play at the resort and for others to have a round of seeing the magnificent
museums and monuments of our Nation’s Capital (or simply relax at the “19 th hole”). The next 2 days (July 2nd and 3rd) will
be dedicated to the religious activities and cultural entertainment. The host Chapter is working hard to bring you a very
comfortable stay for the body and a religious feast for the soul.
The five cardinal principles “Immaculate Body, Mind, Thoughts, Deeds and Words” are absolute qualities of a sharaNa.
We have chosen this revolutionary thinking that emanate from the treasures of vachanas as our Convention theme (ತ್ನ್ನ
ಮನ ಭಾವ ಶುದಿಿ ಯ - ನಡೆ ನ್ನಡಿಯಲಿ ಕಾಣಾ). This will be our signature topic of discussion throughout the Convention.
The youth with enthusiasm and adventurous mind have been active in designing and formulating various activities on both
fronts, the tenets of Veerashaivism and socialization including networking. A number of workshops and Anubhava goshti
sessions are planned for youth and adults alike. In addition, we will have various competitions, Jeopardy-style sharaNa
sahitya quiz. We will top this with an A-class entertainment. Of course, we will have good food to satisfy your taste buds!
The attached brochure lists the venue, program highlights and Convention registration packages. Your generous donation
is very much needed to host the event. Discount registration ends May 1, 2016, but we urge you to register as soon as
possible so that we can plan for additional accommodation at nearby hotels, if necessary.
Please visit the website, www.vsnaconvention.com, for registration details. Please do not hesitate to contact us.

Maryland chapter celebrated Ganesha festival on
a grand scale with over 130 members. We
started our program with linga pooja for kids
followed by prayers. We have an innovative
program of Anubhava Ghosti all conducted by
our youth. Later, we had our chapter meeting
which involved extensive discussions regarding
our 2016 convention. We are proud to say that
we have made a lot of progress in our convention
planning. This was followed by a delicious dinner
all prepared by our sharanas. We will be
celebrating Deepavali in November.

22

VSNA - North Carolina Chapter
By: Reshma Goud & Vaibhavi Patil
The VSNC Gowri-Ganesha function was a fun and exciting
experience. The function started out by doing Linga Pooja.
After the Pooja, the volunteers recited the vachanas and
then the members would repeat, then we all sang brahma
murari together. Then we had the cultural arts program,
kids sang and played instruments. Two guest speakers
spoke about knowledge and education. After that the
families of VSNA did the Arathi. It was a wonderful program,
and we all enjoyed it. Everyone got to get together and talk,
kids got to see their friends and play too. I thank the VSNANC board members for giving volunteering opportunities for
the youth.
Most people liked the kidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s part of the event. Having the
guest speakers (college studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parents) was a unique
part of the event. The food arrangement/selection was
particularly good. The location was a nice place for the
party and everyone did a good job of keeping it clean.
Everybody cooperated well in the Shivalinga pooja part of
the celebration.

23

VSNA - Texas South Chapter
The Texas – South VSNA Chapter aka Houston Chapter conducts monthly programs called Mahamane. The chapter
hosted the Basava Mahotsava in Pearland, Texas on June 27, 2015. Following are some highlights.

VSNA - Pittsburgh Chapter
VSNA Pittsburgh Chapter held the Gowri Ganesha festival on September 26 at Dr. Vishwanath Khajuri's residence. It was
a festive gathering attended by about 50 Veerashaivas. There were a few new faces in the crowd, who are soon to be new
members of the chapter. The event started off with a welcome address by the host followed by Ishta Linga Pooja under the
guidance of Smt. Jayasheela Murthy. The children performed next. Ananya and Anagha sang Ganesha bhajan, Nikita
recited a Vachana, and her interpretation in simple words. Nilay told a story about importance of Gowri-Ganesha
festival. This was followed by Adult recital and discussions of the Vachanas under the experienced leadership of Dr.
Vamadev Murthy. After the business of VSNA chapter, people who attended the VSNA convention in Whippany, NJ shared
their experiences including the youth experience by Amogh and Amulya, Gowri-Ganesha pooja was performed followed by
Bhajans, Mangalarathi and dinner.

VSNA Fund Raising
VSNA Convention Trust Fund
The concept of CTF was presented at the Detroit Convention in the year 1997. The Convention was seen as the best way
to build the sense of belonging among all Veerashaivas. It was strongly felt that the Convention registration cost be kept
reasonable to make affordable for all Veerashaivas to attend. At the same time, it was agreed that the Conventions should
meet some basic standard and cater comfortable facilities that can only be served by major Hotels.
The basic purpose of the CTF was to raise about one million dollars and the investment returns from the fund (without
touching the capital) would offset the ever escalating costs of the Convention. It was memorable and emotional in that
around $320,000 was pledged during the few hours of a well-orchestrated appeal in 1997 followed by subsequent pledges
totaling about $275000 or so. In every subsequent Convention for few years, time was allotted to seek pledges and collect
checks for the CTF drive.
The current balance in the fund is $340,608. The central VSNA provides 90% of the investment returns of the fund to
convention organizers as the seed money. The remaining 10% is reinvested. The amounts provided to last two years’
conventions were around Nineteen Thousand Dollars.
We request your tax-deductible contributions to CTF. Please send your contributions to:




VSNA Scholarship Fund
The mission of VSNA is to preserve, protect and propagate the philosophy of Basava and contemporary sharanas in North
America. In order to encourage the youth in achieving this goal, VSNA has been providing VSNA Scholarships to the youth
members based on their understanding of the organization and the philosophy of Basava and his contemporaries. Selection
criteria is based on the essays written by the youth. Starting 2015, we plan to increase the scholarship amounts in various
categories. We plan to raise the funds for the VSNA Scholarships separately, instead of using the contributions towards
memberships. We encourage members to donate generously towards the VSNA Scholarship Fund.
Please send your contributions to:




VSNA will provide a tax deductible receipt for the donations. Names of the donors will be sent to The Lambeth
Basaveshwara Foundation.
With Regards,
Channu Kambalyal
President, VSNA

29

VSNA Life Membership
One of the task of the 2015-2016 agenda is the VSNA Life Membership Drive. VSNA patrons are encouraged to
become life-members at the Central level and to service the organization in fulfilling its mission to spread the
words of Basava. You contributions would enable you to have a say in the organizational affairs and to become
an active member of the organization.
In case you would like to become a VSNA Life-Member, please submit your filled-in membership form along with
your contribution to:




Dr. Kalaburgi was the scholar of Vachana Sahitya and vice-chancellor of Kannaḍa University in Hampi. Dr.
Kalaburgi was awarded the National Sahitya Academy awards in 2006 for Marga 4, a collection of his research
articles. Dr. Kalburgi has written over 20 publications, including - Neeru Neeradisittu, Sarangarshi and
Kettitthu Kalyan.

VSNA expresses deep condolences to People’s President of India, Abdul Kalam, who attained liṅgaikya on
July 27, 2015 while delivering a lecture at the Indian Institute of Management, Shillong, India.
One of the many achievements of Abdul Kalam was his practice of Basava Philosophy to the core in terms of
Daasōha and Kāyaka! Dr. Abdul Kalam was awarded Basava Paraskara by the Government of Karnataka in
recognition of his contributions to the nation and humanity!